


Time To Be Together

by rurambles



Series: Haikyuu Creations Soulmates Week [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Timers, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:20:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27766639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rurambles/pseuds/rurambles
Summary: Soulmate timers AUEvery year Kei redid the math to double check he had the correct date. And now, less than one year out, he could even tell that it wouldn't happen during school hours. He would encounter someone after school had ended and that person would be his forever.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Tsukishima Kei, Tsukishima Kei & Yamaguchi Tadashi
Series: Haikyuu Creations Soulmates Week [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2031235
Comments: 3
Kudos: 223





	Time To Be Together

Kei often traced the numbers the on his forearm as they clicked down the seconds. Sometimes if he looked carefully around the classroom he could see others doing the same thing, but he couldn't see how long any of them had to wait to meet their soulmates. Kei liked that the numbers on his arm were private, the thoughts about his soulmate were private as well.

It was weird for him to know that somewhere out there was a person just for him. A person made to be his match and balance him out. He wondered what such a person would be like he. He wondered if that person would even like him, or if he would like them. Theoretically he was supposed to love them, but it wasn't unheard of for soulmates to become best friends instead, or even just acquaintances. There were plenty of movies and television dramas about soulmate relationships going awry; his mother loved to watch them, she called them a guilty pleasure.

Kei didn't want his soulmate to remain a stranger. If that one person was supposed to be just for him, he planned on holding them tight and keeping them close. He had learned through people watching that some people were very possessive over their soulmates, that was their person and they didn't like others getting close to what was theirs, but other people let their soulmate be free because they knew they would always come back in the end. Kei worried he would be more like the former.

What if his soulmate wasn't like that at all and didn't like him being clingy?

Being clingy wasn't cool, he would have to do better than that.

Kei continued tracing the numbers. As soon as he was old enough to do the math he figured out the exact day he would run into his soulmate. When he got his first cellphone the first thing he did was program the date into his calendar. Soulmate day was also his first day of high school.

Every year Kei redid the math to double check he had the correct date. And now, less than one year out, he could even tell that it wouldn't happen during school hours. He would encounter someone after school had ended and that person would be his forever. Hopefully. He wondered if it would be overkill to program the exact time into his phone. He could set his phone to beep at just the right time so when he met them he would know without having to check.

Maybe that was too much.

He knew that he was lucky. Many people didn't meet their soulmates at fifteen. Akiteru was twenty and his counter was still higher than Kei's, at least that's what he said. Most people had to wait until they were adults to find the person they were going to spend the rest of their lives with. And fate wasn't always consistent either. His parents had met in high school but neither of their timers had reached zero, but years later when they met again in college they did. Because they couldn't see each other's numbers they had no idea that the numbers were identical. They just weren't ready to meet each other yet.

Apparently, at fifteen and sullen, Kei was ready to meet his soulmate. The idea was daunting. How did they-- whoever they were-- know? What was going to make him a good soulmate so young while his brother, who was objectively nicer than he was despite their history, wasn't ready to meet his yet? Or maybe all of those people who meet their soulmates on their second encounter were simply a fluke in an imperfect system. No one exactly knew how it worked or why it worked, just that people who met then their countdown hit zero had substantially higher success rates as couples.

Then again, Kei thought, that could be cultural conditioning as well. He also expected to meet his soulmate and have that person be the one. He didn't look to date outside of that, and most of his peers were of the same thought. That wasn't to say that people didn't date people other than their soulmates, Countless was still a popular dating app, even if he had no desire to use it. He hoped his soulmate didn't want to use it either, but maybe they wouldn't want to be so tied down at fifteen.

He pressed harder at the numbers in his skin. Sometimes he wanted them to go faster but that would mess up his calculations and then he wouldn't be prepared when the time came to meet his soulmate. Kei would miss the numbers that counted down to the rest of his life but meeting his soulmate was even better than a fair trade.

* * *

Today was the day.

He needed to make it though a few hours of school and then he would meet his soulmate. But where was he supposed to meet them? Stay at school? Walk around town? He didn't know what to do and it made him anxious.

His mother loving pet his hair, "There's no need to worry about your first day of high school, sweetheart," she said kindly, "You probably won't even do any work! It's all about meet people today."

Kei nodded mutely. She didn't know how much her words did not help. He had told her, years ago, how much time he had left before his big day, but she must not have done the math or else she would have known that today he wasn't just meeting people, he was meeting the most important person. He didn't tell her, he couldn't. He would probably beg to stay home like a child. But he couldn't afford to be childish today, today was the day.

Even Yamaguchi noticed how weird he was being on their walk to school, but Kei could tell that Yamaguchi thought Kei was being weird about Karasuno and his brother and therefore didn't want to bring it up. Kei decided to give his friend a break-- something good was going to happen to him today, he could do something nice in return.

He jerkily held up his arm to his best friend even though he wouldn't see anything there, "There are only a few hours left."

Yamaguchi's eyes widened, "Really? Today? But you're so young!" He grabbed Kei's arm and tried to examine his forearm, like if he looked just hard enough maybe he would be able to see, "Are you nervous?"

"No," he lied.

"Very nervous then." he said wisely.

He glared at his friend, "Shut up, Yamaguchi. It's going to happen after school. I need to make it through the day."

"Sorry Tsukki," he grinned. He wasn't sorry. He never was.

* * *

Kei had always liked school, it was easy and he got good grades without trying too hard. (He could hear his mother in the back of his head pleading with him, "just imagine what you could do if you applied yourself.") He got into one of the college preparatory classes without any struggle at least. His soulmate wasn't in this class, and Kei was assuming they went to the same school but there was no promise they were in the same grade, maybe they were in one of the other prep classes. It wouldn't do to have a dumb soulmate.

No matter how much he liked school and how little they were doing that day, the day dragged on. He met teachers and classmates and learned none of their names because today none of that was important. During lunch Yamaguchi said he wanted to check out the volleyball club after class but Kei declined saying he was in no state to do that today and besides, officially practices hadn't started yet so they weren't expected there anyway. Yamaguchi hesitantly agreed but he noticed the fervor at which Kei was tracing the numbers on his arm and let him get away with ditching.

When the last bell finally rang there were just under three hours left. He sat in his seat, unable to feel his legs or get up. What was he expected to do for the next few hours? Where was he expected to go?

"Let's go get something to eat, Tsukki, I'm starving," Yamaguchi said from beside him.

Kei wasn't sure when he got there, and he was fairly certain that his friend wasn't as hungry as he claimed to be but was giving him something to do to fill his time. He appreciated it nonetheless. Kei stood robotically and they left the building. Next time he was here, he would have soulmate.

They walked to a store near campus that had a shopkeeper with bleached blond hair and a bad attitude but really good meat buns. Yamaguchi ordered four for them to share and Kei didn't know if he could finish one considering how much his stomach was in knots. He wondered if his soulmate was nervous too, or maybe they were much more level headed than he was.

Yamaguchi talked to him while he nibbled on his food but he didn't hear a word that was said nor did he taste a single bite. It was like he was preserving all of his senses for later, like he didn't know what he was going to need so he might as well have them in excess. He knew that it wasn't possible to hoard his hearing and taste buds for his soulmate but that doesn't mean he couldn't try. If Yamaguchi noticed that Kei wasn't listening or responding to him, he didn't seem to mind. He kept up his chatter as they walked around at a glacial pace.

When the counter hit a half hour remaining, Kei stopped walking. Yamaguchi went a few more paces before he realized his friend wasn't beside him anymore. "Yamaguchi," he said a touch too loud, immediately betraying his nervous, "Can you- Can I-"

"I'll head home so you can be alone with your soulmate," Yamaguchi grinned and Kei hated that he felt comfortable teasing him like that.

"Thank you." Kei looked around, they had wandered into a park and he could keep walking around or he could sit on a bench and let his soulmate find him instead. He took another step and his legs felt like jelly. Did everyone feel like this before they met their soulmate? The bench sounded like a more appealing option than it had just seconds before. He stumbled his way towards the nearest bench and waited.

It was almost time.

Now he let himself will the numbers go faster. It didn't matter if his calculations were a bit messed up. His soulmate was most likely in this park and they would meet so soon.

* * *

Right before a volleyball landed at his feet, Kei heard someone faintly groan and say "I'll get it" in a tired yet chipper tone.

Kei leaned down to pick up the ball but his hand hit someone else's. He looked up sharply and was met with large brown eyes. They were pretty, he thought, and matched his wild orange hair.

"Zero!" the boy yelled in his face.

"What?"

The boy grabbed his shoulders, "Your timer just hit zero, right? Mine did and you're here so yours must have too. Hi, my name is Hinata Shoyou, I think I'm your soulmate."

Kei stared at him. His soulmate was loud and excitable, like a yappy puppy, "Tsukishima Kei," he said hesitantly.

Hinata grinned, "So your numbers are gone, right? We're soulmates?" He tugged on Kei's arm to get him to stand up, "C'mon, I was having volleyball practice--"

"In the park?"

"It's a long story and involves a big jerk. Kei you're so tall! Do you play?" Hinata jumped from topic to topic Kei felt his head spin. "I can teach you if you don't. Don't underestimate me because I'm small!"

"I..." Kei looked at him. Hinata was small, so much smaller than Kei and so much more overwhelming, "I need to go."

Hinata's face fell but Kei pivoted and walked away before he could reply. He was four long steps away when he stopped, he could still feel Hinata watching him go, when he turned again to march back over and pull the small boy into his arms. If he doubted that they were soulmates any trace of it evaporated when he felt how perfectly they fit together. Hinata immediately buried his face his Kei's chest and snaked his arms around his waist to hold on like he was afraid to let go, but then again his soulmate did just try to walk away from him right after meeting.

"Hey idiot, where did you go?" they heard someone call from a distant.

Hinata looked up and made a face, "He's looking for me for pra--"

Kei bent down and kissed him quickly, he didn't want to hear his person talk about someone else right now. "You go, I'll see you later."

Hinata nods at him even though they didn't exchange numbers or schools or any important information other than their names.

* * *

Later comes in two days.

Kei and Yamaguchi purposefully detoured through the park to try and see the two idiots who got on their captain's bad side. In the back of his mind he worried that it was Hinata because how many people in the area would chose to practice volleyball in the park where there is no net. He doesn't share his concern with Yamaguchi. In fact, he didn't share anything about his soulmate with his best friend, he decided that he still wanted to keep the boy private.

Everything, of course, went out the window when Hinata spotted him.

"Kei!" he yelled brightly right before Kageyama served the ball in his face.

Kei turned pink, "What gives you the right to call me Kei?" His words would have sounded harsher if he didn't pick up his pace so he could examine Hinata's face for a nosebleed or any other injuries.

Hinata looked him square in the eyes, "Soulmate privileges. You should call me Shoyou too."

"Yeah, we'll see about that, Shoyou," he grumbled under his breath so only Hinata-- Shoyou could hear him. He blushed lightly as well and Kei pinched his cheek, "Your face looks fine."

"Thanks!" he chirped.

Yamaguchi and Kageyama stared at them. Outright, blankly stared with mouths agape. Kei wanted to ignore them, pretend the whole thing wasn't happening but Shoyou apparently wasn't on the same wavelength.

"Hi Kei's friend. I'm Hinata Shoyou, his soulmate. That guy over there is Kageyama," he pointed towards the other boy who still hadn't pulled himself together enough to speak, "Oh! You're wearing Karasuno uniforms! We go there too. Kei, we're classmates."

"Shoyou..." Kei started quietly, "Do you talk this much all the time?"

"Yup!"

Yamaguchi snickered, "Nice to meet you. We're also on the volleyball team."

Shoyou looked at Kei with stars in his eyes, "That's great we--"

"So this is the guy that kissed you and ran away?" Kageyama finally spoke up.

Yamaguchi laughed louder, "You kissed him and ran away, that's so like you."

He turned to his friend, "Shut up, Yamaguchi."

"Sorry, Tsukki," he said, still unapologetically.

Shoyou grinned at him, "I still liked it."

The meeting was a disaster.

* * *

The whole soulmate was a disaster.

Shoyou was not clingy. Sure, by the end of the first week of classes most of the school knew that they were soulmates. And the team had no problem with the fact they were soulmates, statistically that made them better teammates. But if someone were to look in the gym and try to guess who the soulmates were, they would most likely guess Hinata and Kageyama.

Kei tried to pretend that it didn't bother him.

It shouldn't bother him either, because Shoyou showered him in enough attention to make him uncomfortable. Yamaguchi groaned at them all the time because they started and ended almost every interaction they had with a quick kiss. But Shoyou gave out attention and compliments so freely that Kei stubbornly wondered what it mattered that he was the only one getting kissed. He tried not to be a child about it but he was noticeably grumpy.

Until one day during practice Suga went up to him while they were on a water break. "He really likes you, y'know?" He said apropos of nothing. Kei, who was sitting on the floor and stretching out his legs, looked up at him curiously. Suga shrugged lightly, "Every time he does something that he thinks was good, he looks for you."

"Oh," he mumbled.

Suga smiled at him, "Don't be embarrassed. You should be proud that someone as..." he made a vague hand gesture in Shoyou's general direction, "as Hinata chose you."

"He didn't choose me, we--"

"No," Suga shook his head, "Fate brought you together, but you still have to choose each other."

Kei nodded, "Thank you."

He stood up and stretched his limbs, letting his back pop a little bit, before he crossed the gym to make his way to Shoyou. Shoyou lit up when he saw Kei approaching and Kei felt his heart skip a beat. No matter how many other people orbited him, Shoyou chose him. When Kei was finally by his side he ran his fingers through Shoyou's hair to tilt his head back and kissed him in the middle of the gym. To everyone else he may have been staking a claim but to Shoyou he was saying thank you.

* * *

Finding your soulmate so young is a blessing and a curse.

When you're young it's easy to choose each other. It's easy to slot each other in next to your other responsibilities. It's easy for Kei to tutor Shoyou and for Shoyou to motivate Kei in volleyball. But as their high school years come to an end, sometimes they need to choose themselves.

At first Kei promises to help Shoyou get into a good college, so even if they don't go to the same one they can try and pick schools close to each other so they won't have to be too far from each other. For a little bit he lets him do the work of researching where he can get in with his grades and who he thinks would offer him a sport's scholarship despite his still diminutive height.

But eventually Shoyou has to tell him that his plans involve leaving Japan for a bit. Kei doesn't fight with him and Shoyou almost wishes that he would. The silence is so much worse. Kei doesn't speak to him for four days until Shoyou drags him into an empty classroom and yells at him for being selfish. They kiss and make up but Shoyou knows that Kei is still upset.

Being away from your soulmate for two years after you have been with them for four is painful, but they make it work. Kei saves money and visits when he can. They video chat and text and email every day. Shoyou shows off his new tan and new muscles. Kei gloats that he got on to a professional team first. But even with all of their communication they miss each other and can't wait to be reunited.

When it's time to pick Shoyou up from the airport Yamaguchi asks him if he wants some company for the ride. Kei smiles at him and tells him that he probably doesn't want to be there when they finally see each other again.

**Author's Note:**

> Anything in this collection is part of the Haikyuu Creations Soulmates week and none of the stories are connected. After I finish my current big project (Not That Easy) I may come back to any of them if I grow particularly attached so please let me know if there is anything you would like to see more of.


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